The defeat, which was courtesy of a stunning Mesut Ozil volley, leaves Newcastle in the relegation zone and the prospect of Championship football next season could be a real possibility.

"The fans know what happened in the summer, and they know what we have to do", said Benitez. We didn't do that because we couldn't.

"Two or three wins can turn the table around really quickly but we need to make sure that we show the same commitment and passion that we showed (against Arsenal) and be a bit more ruthless in front of goal".

"But if you analysed everything at the beginning of the season, then where we are now is something that could be expected".

"The situation is something we could expect".

"We have a young team that is learning every week". We were talking about what we want to do and players that maybe we would like to bring here, or players that maybe could go for any reason.

But Elliot believes other clubs who are enjoying an upturn in results can show Newcastle the way as they look to get out of trouble over the festive period.

Newcastle have won just one of their last 13 matches, but Benitez feels it would be unfair to be too critical of his players after they ran their hearts out in an attempt to match an Arsenal side who now sit in fourth.

"They are doing so well in terms of effort and trying to do things that you can not complain".

He added: "This group of players is working so hard, so I could not have said to them you do not deserve to do this or that - they are giving everything".

The Magpies were dominated by Arsenal in the first half, as the Gunners had a number of chances to extend their lead further, however, they failed to take any of those chances. The only thing is that sometimes in the final third we are lucky enough.

Benitez said: "I think he [Wenger] is a great manager with great experience and has a good team".

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